Planned Parenthood
Letter from March, 2006 Dear Candidate, Congratulations on your candidacy and best of luck in your upcoming race! Enclosed is a questionnaire from the Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Action Fund (PPWPAF). We hope you will take just a few minutes to answer the questions. For more information on our issues, please see the enclosed information sheet. Your responses will be used to formulate our Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Action Fund Voter Guide (vote.ppwpaf.org). Please answer all questions, and please print or type. Please also initial each page. If you are interested in receiving a PPWPAF endorsement, we will look forward to following up on your responses to our questionnaire with an in-person interview. Please return the questionnaire as soon as possible, the deadline for return is March 24, 2006. Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania’s Action Fund is the electoral arm of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and is a 501©(4) entity. PPWPAF is interested in identifying candidates’ views regarding comprehensive sexuality health education in the schools, access to abortion, clinic violence and funding for family planning services. We urge you to take a few moments to complete and return this brief questionnaire concerning your views on these important issues. While the Action Fund will not be giving candidates’ money, we will be informing voters in your district about the choices they face in the voting booth and directing interested volunteers toward candidates that share their beliefs. Again, our voter guide from the last election can be found at Vote.PPWPAF.org. Questionnaires must be returned to us no later than March 24, 2006. Please use the enclosed envelope or send them to: Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Action Fund Attn: Director of Public Affairs 933 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Fax: 412.434.8974 I welcome the opportunity to discuss this questionnaire with you. Please do not hesitate to call with comments, questions, or requests for more information regarding our services and/or organization. Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Jodi Hirsh, M.P.P.M Director of Public Affairs Questionaire (cut from document) Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Action Fund General Assembly Candidate Questionnaire 2006 Candidate: Candidate for:  PA House of Representatives  PA Senate District District Party: ______ Campaign Manager: ____________ _______ Campaign Address: ______ City/State/Zip: E-Mail: Website: Phone: Fax: Contact: The candidate must sign and date this form to signify agreement with all statements made. Please also initial each page. Please answer all questions, and please print or type. We welcome additional comments and clarifications. I certify by my signature that I have read and agree with the statements I have checked and/or the written comments I have made on the attached questionnaire. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ If you do not want Planned Parenthood Western PA Action Fund’s endorsement, please check here:  Information about the issues raised in the following questions can be found in the enclosed fact sheet. Please fax your responses to Jodi Hirsh at 412-434-8974. If you have questions, feel free to contact the Director of Public Affairs at 412-434-8957, ext. 123, or jhirsh@ppwpaf.org. The Planned Parenthood Western Pennsylvania Action Fund (PPWPAF) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization formed as the political arm of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania. PPWPAF engages in educational and electoral activity including voter education campaigns, grassroots organizing and legislative advocacy. PPWPAF is a non-partisan political action committee committed to supporting pro-choice, pro-family planning candidates for Pennsylvania office. I. PREVENTING UNINTENDED PREGNANCY 1.Do you support state funding for comprehensive family planning? (These services do not include abortion.) Support  Oppose  2.Would you support an increase in state spending for family planning services? Support  Oppose  3.Do you support comprehensive confidential family planning services to teens? Support  Oppose  4.Do you support the teaching of responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including information about both abstinence and contraception, in public schools? Support  Oppose  5.Do you support state-funding of “abstinence only” education? Support  Oppose  6.Do you support requiring insurers to cover all FDA-approved prescription contraceptives in the same way they cover other prescription drugs? Support  Oppose  7.Do you support legislation that would guarantee that pharmacists cannot refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control medication, including Emergency Contraception (the “morning after pill”)? Support  Oppose  8.Do you support legislation that would require all hospitals in Pennsylvania to provide Emergency Contraception (the “morning after pill”) to victims of sexual assault? Support  Oppose  II. SAFE, LEGAL ABORTION 1.Planned Parenthood believes that women have the right to obtain a medically safe, legal abortion under the standards set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade decision. Do you support this position? Yes  No  2.If, under the new makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade were to be overturned and/or severely weakened and the right to obtain an abortion came under the jurisdiction of the state of Pennsylvania, would you vote to further restrict the rights of Pennsylvania women seeking abortions? Yes  No  3.Would you vote to outlaw abortion in Pennsylvania? Yes  No  4.Do you support a woman’s right to choose the abortion method she and her physicians deem safest for her individual health and needs? Yes  No  5.Do you support the restoration of Medical Assistance coverage of abortion for low-income women to ensure that they have equal access to choose abortion? Yes  No  6.Do you oppose requiring a mandatory 24-hour delay prior to obtaining an abortion? Yes  No  7.Do you oppose Pennsylvania's mandatory parental consent statute? Yes  No  8.Do you oppose the state-mandated lecture prior to having an abortion? Yes  No  9.Do you oppose a policy that would prohibit any family planning center that receives Pennsylvania state funds from providing abortions services and even providing counseling and referral information about abortion, even if patients ask for such assistance and such assistance is paid for with non-governmental funds? Yes  No  10.Do you support the enactment and enforcement of laws that help prevent violence, intimidation, and harassment specifically directed at reproductive health providers and their patients? Yes  No  11.Would you support a woman’s right to choose by voting against legislation that creates separate legal rights for fetuses, distinct from those of the pregnant woman? Yes  No  12.Planned Parenthood believes in the right to sexual and reproductive self-determination and that the free expression of one’s own human sexuality is central to being fully human. Therefore, we oppose legislation such as the Marriage Protection Act (HB2381/SB1084) which would prohibit the recognition of any relationship for any purpose for unmarried people, such as denying domestic partner benefits to same sex couples or heterosexual unmarried couples. Although the reproductive health questions will be the focus for our endorsements and voter's guide information, we would also like to know your opinion on this issue. Would you oppose legislation such as HB2381/SB1084? Yes  No  Candidate Signature Date